A substantial number of modern electronic devices and even older equipment such as electric typewriters are equipped with a keyboard or keypad of some sort for manually inputting commands into the devices. The most common form of keyboard is that of the computer keyboard and the most common form of keypad is that of a telephone.
Referring to the computer keyboard, the most widely recommended method of input using one of the common keyboards is the “touch typing” method. This method simply trains a user to memorise the keyboard layout so thoroughly that he/she may type using all the fingers without looking at the keyboard. This method is achieved by constant practice and assigning each finger to a particular group of keys.
In particular, the “touch typing” method places each respective finger lightly on a “home” key, for example, in the “QWERTY” keyboard these home keys are “asdf” and “jkl;” from left to right. The thumbs are then placed over the space bar. Each finger rests lightly on its home key and does not move unless it reaches to strike keys immediately above or below the home key or in the case of each of the index fingers, the keys immediately to the side of the home key, then the finger quickly returns to its home key. Thus, each finger has only certain keys that it should strike.
Untrained keyboard operators use what is called the “hunt and peck” system. Usually they use only their two forefingers or at most their four best fingers, the forefingers and middle fingers while looking at the keyboard. This method requires that the typist keeps the eyes on the keyboard and this affects productivity. Although some of these typists can type about as fast as touch typists, very fast hunt and peck typing is more tiring than touch typing because the hands have to leap all around the keyboard to reach all the keys with only two or four fingers. In summary, to “keyboard” correctly, typists must use the touch typing method described above so they are not looking at the keyboard. Similar problems arise in the use of keypads and in particular with mobile phones if the user needs to look at the keypad while trying to drive, or if the user is blind for example.
In an attempt to overcome the shortcomings of some of the prior art, many alternate shaped keyboards have been developed. One such keyboard is the KINESIS keyboard (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,496 to Hargreaves, et al) which describes a keyboard having two wells for the receipt of the right and left hands of a user. The advantage of such a keyboard is that the location of the wells allows a user's arms to extend straight out in front of the user thereby reducing the need for the user to move his or her hands along the keyboard. However, these types of keyboards are complicated to operate and rely on the user to memorise key combinations and macros.
Many other patterns such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,823,130; 3,396,827; 3,848,723; 5,515,763 and 4,180,336, for example, describe keys for keyboards having top surfaces including longitudinal ridges, slots, rows of ridges, knobs, craters and texturing. Various combinations of texturing are also known.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a keyboard and keypad that “forces” a typist to type correctly, reducing typing inaccuracies, minimising strain and effort and allowing a user to not look at the keyboard or keypad when operating the device. The applicant's earlier application PCT/AU00/00691 was directed towards achieving similar outcomes.